


Trusting The Constellations

by Diamond_Raven



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Arrest, Established Relationship, False Accusations, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:22:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25671253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diamond_Raven/pseuds/Diamond_Raven
Summary: Arthur and Merlin are making their relationship work, despite Arthur living on the space station where he works as an Albion border agent and Merlin being a cargo hauler who can only be at the station every few weeks.Then things get more complicated when Arthur finds illegal weapons on Merlin's ship during a routine inspection, which puts Arthur into the difficult position of having to charge Merlin with weapon smuggling. Arthur's left trying to figure out if Merlin's betrayed him (and Albion) or if things aren't as they seem.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've tagged all the major themes but I don't provide trigger warnings for minor events. Feel free to email me if you'd like to ask whether specific things take place in this story or not.

After pressing the buzzer outside the airlock, Arthur glances at his tablet one more time, just to make sure Merlin had completed all of his documentation. It’s more to keep himself busy than to actually check because he’d already verified the paperwork earlier and as usual, Merlin had filled everything out properly. He’d already seen Merlin over their screens while greeting him in the control centre, but seeing him in person is always a thousand times better. He’s so excited to see him that he’s practically vibrating and it takes all his effort to keep his facial expression impassive. Right now, he needs to be a professional and do his job properly. Once his shift is done, he’ll get to show Merlin exactly how much he’s missed him. But work comes first.

There’s a hiss of air as the station’s airlock door slides open and louder screech of metal as the Kilgharrah’s rusty hatch opens before he’s greeted with Merlin’s smiling face. “Hello, sir.”

Arthur can’t help the grin that spreads over his face but he quickly tempers it into a more casual smile. “Hello, Captain Emrys. Did you have any issues docking?”

“No, sir. The new locks are fantastic. It’s going on my lengthy list of reasons why I love stopping at Station Four more than any other border station.”

Arthur appreciates that Merlin’s trying to keep things professional too, but Merlin’s grin gets a bit heated and his eyes deliberately look Arthur up and down. That heated gaze makes Arthur’s stomach flutter and he has to stop himself from grabbing Merlin and kissing him because that wouldn’t be professional. Business before pleasure.

Merlin lets out a dirty, low chuckle because the bastard must know what effect he’s having on Arthur.

Clearing his throat so he doesn’t make a fool of himself, Arthur takes a breath. “Please step out of your ship and hold your arms out on either side. I’ll be scanning you to check for weapons.”

Losing the smirk, Merlin grows serious as he steps out and holds out his arms. They’ve done this often enough that Arthur automatically taps on his pad to start the scan and half his brain is analysing the results while the other half shivers pleasantly at being closer to Merlin. The desire to kiss him is getting alarmingly stronger, but not giving in to that urge is his main priority right now.

As always, the scan reveals nothing, which means they can proceed. Saving the scan into Merlin’s records, Arthur shoots him a smile. “Thank you, Captain. We can proceed with the inspection. Please lead the way to the cargo hold.”

“Yes, sir.”

Now fully in professional mode, Merlin brings them into his old, rusty cargo hauler. Their steps echo on the metal walkway and Merlin brings them to the ladder that will lead them up to the cargo hold. Before following him, Arthur can’t help but glance around to see if he can spot Hunith but as always, she’s hiding somewhere. She’ll come out to spend time with them once the inspection is done, but she usually stays out of the way until official business is complete.

Once they’ve climbed up to the cargo hold, Merlin steps to the side and follows proper procedure by staying quiet and keeping his hands in view. Climbing up the ladder always shifts all of Arthur’s equipment every which way and he takes a second to straighten his gun holster, the handcuffs hanging off his belt and the sleeve attachment holding his tablet. Then he’s back to business.

He taps through the various documents and finds the manifest Merlin had submitted. Before the Kilgharrah had docked, the station’s drones had flown out and thoroughly scanned the entire ship, top to bottom, bow to stern. The drones hadn’t noticed any anomalies, so that’s good. The system also hadn’t flagged any of Merlin’s cargo for missing or incorrect paperwork—which is normal—and that means Arthur only has to inspect the randomly selected crates that the system had pulled for spot inspections. “Nothing was flagged so we’ll just be doing spot inspections. We’ll be doing crates number 27 and 89.”

“Yes, sir. Do I have permission to bring the crane remote with us?”

Arthur always appreciates that Merlin follows protocol so well and doesn’t make a fuss about all the little details that need to be followed, which is wonderful. Anything that speeds up the time until Arthur gets to touch Merlin the way he wants to is good. “Yes, Captain.”

After grabbing the clunky crane remote, Merlin walks ahead of Arthur, keeping the remote at his side so Arthur can keep an eye on his hands. As they walk through the enormous cargo hold filled with stacks of crates and covered in glowing gravitational locks, Arthur keeps his mind focused on his duties as he keeps an eye out for crate 27. Once they’ve found it, he gives Merlin permission to proceed with uncovering the crate. Merlin turns on the remote and there’s the usual horrible screeching sound as the old crane in the cargo hold’s roof grinds to life and slowly jerks its way to where they’re standing.

Arthur busies himself staring at his tablet because otherwise he’ll lose his patience waiting for the old crane to finally arrive. He doesn’t understand how Merlin doesn’t lose his temper every time he has to use the old thing. He’s offered a hundred times to replace the crane or in fact, overhaul the old ship from bow to stern, but Merlin always politely refuses.

Over time, Arthur’s figured out it’s definitely a pride issue. Merlin’s from Ealdor and he’s worked very hard to get off the impoverish planet, buy himself the Kilgharrah and become a licenced cargo hauler going in and out of Albion. The ship’s top speed isn’t very impressive so Merlin can’t get the more lucrative jobs that would allow him to stay within the secure borders of Albion more often, but he makes enough to support himself and Hunith without breaking the law, which is something many people on Ealdor can’t say.

When the crane finally arrives, it slowly lifts the crates on top of number 27 out of the way until it’s unearthed their target and lowered it to the floor. Once Merlin’s disengaged the crane, he patiently stands aside as Arthur does a preliminary scan of the crate with his tablet. It’s filled with metal boxes containing the vague outlines of what looks like medical equipment, which seems to support the medical supplies designation that’s on the manifest, but he still has to check. Once he’s opened the crate, he carefully digs through the stacks of metal boxes and picks random ones before opening them. Sure enough, they’re filled with various bandages, syringes, masks and other medical supplies.

Satisfied, he repacks everything and securely locks the crate again before he’s back to waiting for the crane to slowly put the crate back into it’s place. He makes the mistake of staring at Merlin’s long, slim fingers deftly working the remote and that usual tingling spreads through him as he thinks about how great those fingers feel when they’re touching Arthur instead.

Blinking hard, he clears his throat and shoves those thoughts aside. His hands are clutching his tablet and his heart’s picked up speed, but he clenches his jaw and refuses to let himself abandon his professionalism yet. Not yet. He needs to stay focuses and finish the inspection. Not doing so might put both of their jobs at risk, and he won’t let that happen.

So he takes deep, shaky breaths and stares at his tablet instead of Merlin’s fingers. He also refuses to glance at Merlin because he knows the bastard’s throwing him leering grins while he steers the crate back into position.

* * *

Thankfully, the rest of Merlin’s inspection goes as smoothly as it always does. The spot inspections had gone well and Merlin’s paperwork is perfect, which means Arthur starts preparing the clearance documentation while Merlin’s guiding the crane back into its resting position.

After he turns off the crane remote, Merlin throws him a smirk. “Did I pass inspection, sir?” Merlin has that smug tone in his voice because he knows he passed.

It’s a struggle not to roll his eyes but Arthur can’t help the smile that tugs on his lips while he keeps typing. “You know you did. I wish everybody were as organized as you.”

“It also helps that I’m very skilled at handling the crane.” And the bastard actually lifts his hand and wiggles his fingers, which sends a jolt of heat through Arthur and makes him flush.

“Give me a few more minutes to finish everything.”

Merlin leans against a stack of crates and puts the remote control on the ground. He’s doing nothing to hide the fact that he’s ogling Arthur head to toe, a heated gaze in his eyes and that cheeky grin on his lips. “No problem, sir. I’m enjoying the view.”

Right on cue, Arthur’s flushing again and that tingling sensation spreads through him as his toes curl and his fingers jerk across the tablet and leave a string of nonsense letters. Merlin—the bastard—chuckles, but thankfully stays quiet while Arthur fixes the mess he’d made.

Once Merlin’s documents are complete, Arthur sends them off to the Kilgharrah’s system and finally lets himself grin the way he’s been wanting to since the airlock doors had opened. “You’re all set, Captain Emrys. You’re cleared to proceed into Albion.”

Merlin’s grin mirrors his. “Thank you, sir.”

That happy grin on Merlin’s face finally shatters the last of Arthur’s self control and he turns off the tablet and grabs hold of him, putting his hand behind Merlin’s head to soften the landing as he pushes him up against the crates and kisses him.

Merlin moans and clutches Arthur’s uniform as he kisses him back, eagerly sliding his tongue against Arthur’s lips. Arthur’s still on duty but he can’t tear himself away as he parts his lips and shoves his leg between Merlin’s legs, feeling his stiffening hardness.

“God, I missed you so much,” Arthur mumbles against his lips.

Rubbing himself against Arthur’s thigh, Merlin slides his tongue into Arthur’s mouth and deepens the kiss. “Not as much as I missed you,” Merlin mumbles against his lips.

Warmth spreads through Arthur at the sweet words and he doesn’t stop kissing him.

Finally, it’s Merlin who gently pushes him back and keeps a hand on his chest to keep him back. “If we don’t stop, I’m gonna fuck you right here on the floor.”

Arthur lets out a breathy laugh, trembling a bit and desperate to get back to touching Merlin. “I wouldn’t say no to that.”

Merlin grins, but then presses his lips together as he lets out a loud sigh. “You’re going to be the death of me. But no, we have to stay focused. You have to go finish your shift, I have to clean up my quarters and once we’ve both finished all the important things we need to be doing today, then we get our rewards.”

Making a face, Arthur wants to argue, but he knows Merin’s being the reasonable one. There are ship captains waiting for their inspection and those captains have schedules to keep. Turning those schedules on their ears because Arthur’s too horny to wait a few more hours before touching Merlin would be ridiculous and unprofessional. He lets out a long breath, willing his heart rate to calm. “Fine, I’ll behave.”

“And I’ll do the same.” Merlin slowly takes his hand off Arthur’s chest. When Arthur stays where he is, he clenches his hand into a fist and holds his hands behind his back, as if he’s scared he’ll grab Arthur if he doesn’t hide his hands away. “When are you done your shift?”

“At five.”

“Will you want dinner? Mum’s going to make fasirt.”

Arthur’s mouth waters at the name of the delicious Ealdorian meatballs and he grins. “Yes, please.”

Merlin’s eyes sparkle. “Excellent!” Then Merlin’s carefully stepping around him, making sure to leave plenty of space between them. “Now, come on, let’s go be good boys. I have laundry to do and you’ve got ships to inspect and illegal goods to hunt down. Albion’s depending on you.”

And sadly, that’s true.

* * *

Getting through the rest of his shift is torture, as it always is when Merlin’s at the station. It’s a bit ridiculous because it’s not as if Merlin’s leaving tomorrow. He always stays at the station for a few days to refuel, restock his supplies and do maintenance so there’s no rush. But no matter how much time they spend together, it’s never enough.

Thankfully, the rest of his shift passes without any major delays and Arthur nearly runs to his quarters to get changed. After throwing on casual clothes, he fusses with his hair and finally hurries out of his quarters, his stomach buzzing with excitement.

He rushes down to the main level of the station and pushes through the busy afternoon crowd of people as they flood in and out of the many shops filling the open space. Despite hating the crowds, Arthur hates going to dinner at the Kilgharrah empty handed even more and because the shops aren’t open in the morning when his shift starts, he has no choice but to brave the crowds now.

His first stop is a bakery where he picks up two of the large chocolate cakes that both Hunith and Merlin adore but can rarely afford. He used to only pick up three slices for them to enjoy with dessert, but then he’d realized it’s much better to get two whole cakes so Merlin and Hunith can continue enjoying their favourite treat until they’re back at the station on their next run.

Then he’s back to pushing through the crowd and carefully shielding his cakes until he’s at Gwen’s florist shop. Ducking inside, he heads for the counter where Gwen’s sitting and scrolling on a tablet.

“Hi, Gwen.”

She glances up and grins. “Hello, Arthur!”

He carefully sets the cakes on the counter. “How’s business?”

“Busy, as always. Lots of tourists and you know what they’re like.”

Arthur smiles, but his gut also clenches with worry. The border stations are the first stop for any tourist who comes into Albion and they tend to get overly excited by the many native Albion plants that Gwen sells and often clear everything out of her shop. It’s why he always places his order with Gwen as soon as Merlin tells him when he’s expecting to be back on the station but there’s still a chance that the order hasn’t come in.

But before he can continue fretting about it, Gwen shoots him a warm smile. “But don’t worry, your bouquet of Sparkling Night Stars are safe in the back.”

Relief rushes through Arthur and he grins. “Thank you.”

“Let me go get them.” She disappears into the back and returns a moment later, carrying a bouquet of sparkling black flowers wrapped in transparent cellophane. The flowers have black stems and pedals, and chemical reactions within the leaves create sparking trails of electricity that are constantly shifting across the surface. The effect only lasts for a few days before the flowers start to wilt but Hunith loves them.

Gwen hands over the bouquet and Arthur smiles down at the sparkling flowers. The last two times that Merlin had been at the station, Gwen hadn’t had any in stock so he’d bought Hunith different flowers and she’d seemed just as happy as always, but Arthur’s much happier giving her something she truly loves. He’s mentally congratulating himself for his foresight to place an order for the flowers when Gwen shoots him a smile.

“That’ll be 30 Albs, please.”

“Of course.” He swipes his credit chip through the machine and grins at her. “Thanks, Gwen.”

“You’re welcome. Send me your next order as soon as you can.”

He smiles. “I will, thank you.”

Then he’s picking up the cakes and trying not to crush the shimmering flowers as he carefully makes his way out of the shop and back into the busy crowd of shoppers. He manages to make his way to a nearby stairwell and uses a variety of short cuts to get to the docking bays reserved for cargo ships and finally, he’s standing in front of the airlock door and eagerly leaning on the buzzer with his elbow as he waits for Merlin to open it.

His stomach is back to fluttering with excitement and he’s shifting back and forth when the airlock hisses open. Once again, he’s greeted by Merlin’s face, but he looks a bit stressed and he’s backing away from the door. “Hi! Come in. Listen—I’m sorry but I’m in the middle of refuelling. I need to go back up front to watch the gauge.”

Arthur steps into the Kilgharrah and jabs the lock lever with his elbow and it slides shut behind him. “It’s alright, go, go, go.”

Merlin’s grin widens as he starts hurrying down the walkway towards the front of the ship. “Mum’s in the kitchen. And is that chocolate cake?!”

Arthur laughs. “As if I’d come with any other dessert!”

Laughing, Merlin’s now running away from him but he throws a quick “This is why I keep you around! Delicious from head to toe!” over his shoulder before he disappears from view.

The double meaning is clear in the teasing tone of Merlin’s voice and Arthur can’t help but grin, feeling very satisfied with himself. He makes his way to the kitchen and finds Hunith at the stove, flipping the meatballs in a large pan of sizzling oil. “Hello, Hunith. How are you?”

She glances over and smiles. “Arthur! Hello, darling. It’s so good to see you again! I’m fine, thank you. How are you?”

Arthur puts the cakes and flowers on the small table before pulling off his jacket and draping it over the back of the chair he usually sits on. “Fantastic, now that I’m here.” That makes Hunith laugh and he grins. “Can I help with anything?”

“Do you want to finish the fasirt for me?” she asks, the words slightly tinged with her Ealdorian accent. “I’ve got two batches to go but the potatoes need to come out of the oven.”

“Sure!” Stepping up beside her, Arthur takes the forks she’d been using to flip the breaded meatballs and takes over.

She steps away from the stove, then Arthur hears: “Two chocolate cakes?! And my beautiful flowers! Oh, you shouldn’t have. Thank you, sweetheart!”

Arthur grins, his eyes on the bubbling oil as he flips the meatballs and keeps an eye on their colouring to determine when they’re ready to be taken out, just like Hunith had taught him. “I can take it all back to the shops, if you’re too overwhelmed by it all.”

She laughs. “Don’t you dare! But I keep telling you that you don’t have to bring us presents every time you come. You’re family, sweetheart.”

Shrugging, Arthur takes out one of the ready meatballs and adds it to the stack Hunith had started. “I know, but I want to.”

Hunith steps up behind him and kisses his cheek, which makes warmth flood through Arthur. “Thank you very much. You know we—”

“Mum, you better not have started on the chocolate cake!” Merlin says, striding into the kitchen.

“Would I do such a thing?”

Merlin laughs. “Yes, definitely. And you’d try being sneaky about it.”

Hunith says something in Ealdorian that makes Merlin laugh. Arthur can’t understand what it means, but he knows it’s something rude and there’s a reason Hunith didn’t say it in Camelotian.

Then Merlin’s sliding up behind Arthur and wrapping his arms around his waist, which makes Arthur shiver pleasantly and lean closer to him.

“Mmm...” Merlin mumbles, his voice low. “Delicious.”

Arthur smiles. “Your mum made them, I’m just frying them.”

Merlin leans closer to him and lets out a low chuckle that’s clearly only meant for Arthur’s ears. “I’m not talking about the fasirt,” Merlin whispers. His fingers are rubbing Arthur’s shirt just above his waistband and it’s clear where he actually wants his hands to be.

The desire to have Merlin’s hand slide into his trousers makes Arthur’s knees nearly give out and he draws in a shaky breath, his heart racing. He almost drops the forks into the hot oil and puts them down, his hands trembling.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—it seems Merlin isn’t willing to change their plans and his hand goes up to pat his stomach. “The fasirt’s going to burn. Best keep a close eye on it.” His voice is full of cheek and Arthur turns his head to glare at him as he tries to calm his racing heart.

Chuckling, Merlin steps back to help Hunith set the table while Arthur struggles to focus back on cooking. There’s no doubt Merlin Emrys is going to be the death of him one of these days.

* * *

Dinner is wonderful, as it always is. Thankfully, Merlin sits opposite Arthur and keeps his hands and feet to himself, which allows Arthur to stay focused on the delicious dinner and great conversation. Merlin and Hunith tell him about their latest cargo run and funny stories they’d heard from other cargo haulers and Arthur entertains them with stories he’d heard around the station and funny things that had happened during inspections. Hunith had put the Sparkling Night Stars into a vase and the flowers merrily twinkle away as they eat.

After eating, Hunith boils some water and mixes in some berry juice to make traditional szeder ital that they can drink with dessert and Arthur carves everybody thick slices of chocolate cake to go with it.

Once everybody’s had a slice, Hunith pours herself another glass of the szeder ital. “Well, I think it’s time I retire for evening and leave you two boys. Arthur, can you cut me another slice, please?”

Arthur smiles and does the honours, cutting her an generous slice of cake that he slides onto her plate.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Getting up, she kisses both of them on the cheek. “Good night, boys. Don’t stay up too late.”

“We won’t, mum. Good night,” Merlin mumbles around a mouthful of cake.

“Good night, Hunith,” Arthur says. His hands are shaking because Merlin’s staring at him with a grin, his eyes flaring with heat.

Once Hunith has left, Arthur’s shaking with impatience while Merlin’s calmly finishing his slice of cake. But he’s staring at Arthur and his grip on the fork is very tight, which means he’s not fooling anybody.

Getting up, Arthur swings around the table and turns Merlin’s face before catching his lips in a heated kiss.

Merlin moans against his lips and there’s a clatter as he drops the fork and touches Arthur’s face. As much as Arthur wants to deepen the kiss right here and now, that might lead to problems if Hunith decides to come back for another slice of cake. Pulling back from Merlin, Arthur presses his forehead against his, his heart already pounding as faint arousal simmers through him. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

Merlin’s nuzzling Arthur’s face with his nose. “Uh huh…”

“We’re going to wrap up the leftover cake and clean everything as fast as possible.”

A slow, lingering kiss to Arthur’s cheek. “And then?”

“Then we’re going to your quarters and I’m not going to stop touching you until tomorrow morning.”

Merlin pulls back just far enough so Arthur can see his grin. “I like that plan.”

Matching his grin, Arthur steps back and spins around to find the plastic wrap, his entire body vibrating with excitement.

* * *

Two weeks later, Arthur’s lying on his side in bed, staring at Merlin on the tablet screen that he has propped up against the wall next to his bed. It makes Arthur’s heart ache to see Merlin lying on the same bed where Arthur wishes he were but isn’t, because Merlin and the Kilgharrah are far away and they aren’t even heading towards Station Four yet.

Merlin gives him a soft smile. “Stop pouting or you’ll make me sad and then we’ll both be sad sacks and what’s the point of that?”

That makes Arthur chuckle.

“That’s better,” Merlin says, looking happier. “Now tell me about your day. Did Morgana call?”

His sister works for charity organizations that travel to planets outside Albion who require assistance and sometimes that means she’s out of communication range for days. Uther has never been happy about her chosen career, but because Morgana’s Morgana, she couldn’t care less about Uther’s opinion. To his credit, Arthur’s father has always provided Morgana’s charities with funding if they’re running short, so Arthur’s never been clear on where the two of them stand. He tries to stay out of it, which is easy to do with Uther living on Camelot in the centre of Albion, Arthur being on Station Four on the edge of Albion and Morgana usually being far outside of it. Unlike with Hunith and Merlin, distance seems to keep the Pendragon family dynamic healthier.

“Yeah. She’s actually going to be on Ealdor next week.”

“Oh? What’s she doing there?”

“Annoying the locals with her cheery attitude, butchering the Ealdorian language and helping with the women’s mining rights campaign.”

Merlin laughs and shifts on his pillow. “No doubt. Yeah, mum told me about that. We’ve both signed the petition already and she’s sending it around.”

“Morgana and I convinced Uther to use some of his connections to speed things along. So that should help.”

That makes Merlin’s smile grow soft and his eyes are full of fondness. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“No, but convincing my father to do something is always easier if Morgana and I team up.”

“You know what I mean.”

Arthur flushes a bit and his eyes drop to stare at the edge of the tablet. “Well, I happen to know two people from Ealdor and I’m quite fond of both of them, so I’ve developed a desire to help where I can.”

Merlin’s still staring at him intensely, then he mumbles: “You know I love you, don’t you?”

Arthur smiles as warmth spreads through him. “Yeah.”

Merlin sighs softly and keeps staring at Arthur, an unreadable expression on his face.

That familiar sadness of Merlin being so far away is beginning to creep through him again, so he searches for something nice to use a change of topic. Then he remembers the idea that had occurred to him the other day and he grins at Merlin. “Hey, guess what?”

“Hmm?”

“I have a special treat for you and Hunith the next time you’re here.”

“Oh?” Merlin’s eyes light up. “I like special treats.”

Arthur chuckles. “I know you do. I’m taking you both for dinner at the Sky Loft.”

Merlin’s eyes widen at the mention of the luxury hotel and restaurant that’s located in the station. “The Sky Loft? That’s too expensive!”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s my treat.”

“I know, but still...it’s a lot of money.”

“I don’t care. Both of you deserve a special night out and I want to treat you both. I’ve also booked Hunith a nice day in the spa and a night in one of the rooms, and I booked one of luxury suites for you and me.”

Merlin’s eyes get even bigger, but there’s an excited grin on his lips. “You didn’t have to do that. God, I can’t even imagine how much it’s going to cost.”

Arthur shrugs and grins back. “I know and I don’t care. I wanted to.” Then he raises his eyebrows at him. “But if you’re really against it, I can still cancel the bookings.”

“Well, since you already planned it all out...”

Laughing, Arthur happily drinks up Merlin’s excited grin. “Yeah, you wouldn’t want my hard work going to waste, do you?”

“Oh, mum’s going to be so thrilled! Neither of us have ever been to the Loft.”

That makes Arthur bite his lip for a moment, feeling guilty. When he first came up with the plan, he’d been upset with himself for not having thought of it sooner. But he’d also been afraid that Merlin’s pride would get in the way or that Hunith and Merlin won’t feel comfortable in such posh surroundings. But if things go well, he’s going to make regular reservations at the Loft and find a way to coax Merlin and Hunith into accepting every single time. The thought of spoiling two people he cares about makes him feel very good.

Then Merlin’s back to frowning. “What are we supposed to wear? I don’t want to embarrass you.”

“You won’t, I promise. Just make sure your hair’s not a disaster and that you’re not covered in engine oil and it’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Arthur smiles. “Trust me, it’ll be fine.”

He doesn’t tell Merlin that he’s paying a premium price for the entire day and night which will guarantee that nobody looks at any of them with anything but adoration.

That makes Merlin’s excited smile return and he looks almost giddy. “I can’t wait! I’ve seen pictures of what the Loft looks like on the inside. Are we allowed to take pictures? Nobody on Ealdor’s going to believe it!”

Arthur laughs. “You can take as many pictures as you want. You can even nick the cutlery as a souvenir.”

That makes Merlin look both scandalized and contemplative, which makes Arthur laugh even harder. Oh, he can’t wait for Merlin to be back at the station!


	2. Chapter 2

Two weeks later, the big day is finally here. Arthur’s so excited that he’s fidgeting as he sits in the control centre, staring at his computer screen that’s showing him the small dot that’s the Kilgharrah slowly approaching the station. He wishes he could reach through the screen and pull the ship to the station and pluck Merlin and Hunith out so they can get started on their amazing day. Unfortunately, protocol has to be followed.

When the Kilgharrah has passed the station border markers, Arthur eagerly opens a communication channel, waiting for Merlin to hail them.

A few minutes later, Merlin’s smiling face appears on the screen on Arthur’s right. “Hello, Station Four. This is the cargo ship Kilgharrah. I’m booked for berth 9C.”

Arthur grins at the screen and his stomach is fluttering with excitement as he greets Merlin and requests that he send over his paperwork.

Merlin’s eyes drop down and he’s shifting around, as he types on the Kilgharrah’s ageing communication keyboard. “Yes, sir. Transmitting now.”

Arthur’s other screens fill with copies of Merlin’s documents and he instructs the system to look through the paperwork to make sure everything’s in order. “Thank you. Please remain in neutral while the scanning drones proceed with their scan.”

“Yes, sir.” Merlin’s voice is also full of excitement, which makes Arthur’s fidgeting worse. It’s a good thing he has to keep staring at his other screens while he works because looking at Merlin’s smiling face is way too distracting.

He types in the command to deploy the drones and watches the tiny specks leaving the station and surround the Kilgharrah. Switching his screen over, he watches the scan results coming in at a rapid pace. The process is entirely automated and Arthur doesn’t have to do anything except wait until the drones are finished and the system has analysed the scan results and flashed that cheery message across his screen that Merlin’s clear to dock at the station.

He’s so accustomed to Merlin’s scans coming back with an all clear that he’s more focused on how hard his heart’s racing, listening to Merlin’s quiet breathing over the comm channel and trying not to stare at Merlin relaxing in his chair. That’s why it takes him a second to realize something’s wrong when the system lets out an unhappy beep and a message flashes across his screen.

‘ _Illegal goods detected. Initiate containment protocols.’_

Arthur blinks at the message.

That can’t be right. It’s Merlin’s ship. _Merlin’s_.

Merlin can’t possibly have illegal goods onboard because this is _Merlin_.

But as he’s staring at the screen, the drones re-do the scan and once again, there’s that unhappy beep and the same message appears again. It’s followed by an image of what the drones had picked up...and it’s not good. It’s not good at all.

It’s a crate filled with rows of guns. Large guns. Guns that look like they’re projectile weapons, which are illegal in Albion.

For a moment, Arthur’s breath catches. One part of him is ready to jump into his training and do what needs to be done, but the other part of him is frozen in shock...because this is Merlin’s ship. _Merlin’s_.

“I...Captain Emrys?” His throat’s so tight that he can barely talk.

“Yes, sir?” Merlin sits up from his slouch, smiling politely. He still sounds so cheerful, having no idea what the drones had picked up. Because this can’t be true. It has to be a mistake.

“We...” Arthur struggles to clear his throat, his hands shaking as he grips the edge of his desk and turns to stare at Merlin. “The drones have detected illegal goods onboard your vessel.”

Merlin’s eyes widen and he pales. “What?!”

It’s instinct to tell Merlin not to worry. That obviously, the scans must be a mistake. The image on his screen doesn’t look like a mistake, but there has to be an explanation. Maybe Merlin’s carrying toy guns? Because there’s no way Merlin actually has illegal weapons onboard. He doesn’t have a licence to transport weapons. Not to mention that those guns are clearly projectile weapons and they’re banned in Albion.

Oblivious to Arthur’s growing panic, the system continues following protocol. It scans through Merlin’s paperwork and another ominous message pops up on the screen, one which Arthur’s never seen before when dealing with Merlin’s cargo.

‘ _Discrepancy encountered._ _Unsupported_ _and unmanifested_ _goods detected onboard the vessel. Initiate containment protocols.’_

More scans and information appear on his screen and it’s all bad news. The crate filled with weapons isn’t listed on Merlin’s manifest...and there isn’t any supporting documentation for the crate contents.

That makes the situation worse. Much worse.

There are definitely guns onboard Merlin’s ship. Illegal guns. Whether there’s a valid reason for them being there or not is now irrelevant because Merlin doesn’t have any supporting documentation to go along with them. No scans, no shipper declaration, nothing. And Merlin hadn’t declared them on his manifest. Arthur’s head is spinning because this is crazy.

All signs are pointing to Merlin having attempted to hide this crate of illegal goods...and because he’s already crossed the Albion border, this means Merlin’s just smuggled illegal weapons into Albion.

And he got caught.

Merlin’s frowning, his eyes wide. “What do you mean illegal goods? I don’t have anything illegal onboard, sir.”

His mind racing, Arthur desperately thinks about how to fix this. How to make it go away. He doesn’t even care that Merlin’s carrying illegal goods. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that Merlin could go to prison for ten years and that can’t happen. His hands twitch as he frantically thinks about how to delete all the incriminating evidence from the system. Clearing his own computer won’t be enough. Everything’s also on the main server and Arthur doesn’t have the technical skills to hack into it and delete the files without leaving a trace.

A part of him is shocked at the thoughts he’s having. He’d taken an oath to protect Albion and covering up something like this would be violating that oath in the worst possible way. He’d also be abusing his position of authority. Arthur’s caught dozens of ships attempting to smuggle illegal goods into Albion and he’s never considered interfering, even if those captains had been forced into committing those crimes due to heartbreaking circumstances.

Arthur doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about any of it, except keeping Merlin safe. Merlin can’t go to prison for ten years.

“Sir? Are you sure the scans were done properly? I scanned every crate that’s up there and I know I have all the supporting documentation. I went over all my paperwork again this morning, like I always do. There aren’t any illegal goods up there, I promise.” Merlin sounds worried, but not nearly as worried as he should be.

Unfortunately, every word that Merlin’s saying is making the situation worse. Clearly, what Merlin’s saying isn’t true. Why he’s pretending it’s true is a mystery, but they’re clearly lies. Or Merlin’s trying to cover something up. But none of this is making any sense. This is Merlin. _His Merlin._

Arthur’s shaking and he doesn’t know what to do. But unfortunately, he realizes the longer he sits here, the worse the situation will become. If somebody suspects Arthur’s frozen due to his feelings for Merlin, they won’t allow him to continue being part of this investigation. And if Arthur’s forced to the sidelines, he won’t be able to help Merlin at all.

No, he needs to follow protocol. He needs to pretend that he’s going to follow his oath and do what’s expected of him. That’s the only way he’ll be able to figure out how to get Merlin out of this mess. Because Arthur will find a way out of this. Merlin is _not_ going to prison for ten years, even if Arthur has to break him out and go on the run with him.

Moving quickly, Arthur types on his computer, initiating the protocol that he should have begun several minutes ago. The map displaying the station and the dot that’s the Kilgharrah hovering next to it shows a cluster of large drones leaving the station and quickly approaching the ship.

Turning to face the screen, Arthur clenches his jaw hard and stares at Merlin’s worried face. “Captain, I’m hereby notifying you that the scanning drones have detected illegal weapons onboard your ship. The weapons are also unmanifested and lack supporting documentation. I’m placing you under arrest for attempting to smuggle illegal weapons into Albion.”

The remaining colour drains from Merlin’s face and he sits up with a jerk. “What?! Are you serious?” His jaw shifts, but then he narrows his eyes at the screen. “Is this a joke? Because I’m telling you right now that—”

There’s a faint, echoing thudding sound that comes through the comm channel and Merlin sucks in a sharp, scared breath as he glances up at the ceiling.

“Please remain calm, Captain,” Arthur says. His throat is tightening again and the panic on Merlin’s face is making his heart ache. He desperately wishes he were on the Kilgharrah so he could pull Merlin into his arms and comfort him and reassure him that everything will be alright. Arthur will figure this out.

But he’s not there. He’s stuck here, in the control centre, forced to go through the steps that have been drilled into him and clinging to the faint hope that he can save Merlin somehow. “Containment drones have attached to your hull. Your navigation and weapon systems are being disabled. Please remain where you are and follow my instructions.”

Merlin tears his terrified gaze off the hull where the drones are attaching themselves and stares at Arthur, his eyes wide with unshed tears. “Arthur, you can’t be serious,” he breathes out.

“Captain, you need to remain calm. Please. You need to follow my instructions to the letter. Do you understand?”

Blinking rapidly, Merlin’s breathing rapidly and tears are starting to run down his cheeks. “Arthur, if there are weapons in the cargo hold, then I don’t know anything about it! I don’t know how they got up there or who they belong to. You know I wouldn’t do this! You know that!”

Arthur’s heart is breaking, but he’s also panicking more. Every word that Merlin’s saying could end up being used against him in court, not to mention that the informal way he’s talking to Arthur is increasing the risk that he’ll be pushed off this case. Drawing in a shaky breath, Arthur clenches his jaw and gives Merlin a hard look. “Captain. Look at me.”

Merlin’s shaking so hard that Arthur can see it through the video screen but he locks his terrified eyes on Arthur.

“You need to do what I say, do you understand?”

“I...Arthur, _please_. I don’t know anything about—”

“You need to do what I say. Do you understand?”

Merlin sucks in a shaky breath, but he nods. “Yes, sir.” His voice is tiny.

“You will only move when you’re given instruction to move. You will obey every order you’re given without hesitation. And you will not speak unless you’re asked a direct question. Do you understand?”

Shaking, Merlin stares at him and Arthur allows his pain to filter across his face so Merlin can hopefully see that Arthur’s on his side. That Arthur will help him. Their conversation and Merlin’s face are being recorded, but Arthur’s isn’t.

Reaching up to his chest, Arthur discreetly points at himself, taps on his heart and then points at Merlin, reminding Merlin that he loves him. He repeats the gesture one more time and watches Merlin’s scared eyes follow his hand.

A small hint of relief flickers over Merlin’s face and he briefly closes his eyes and when he opens them, he still looks terrified and he’s still crying, but he looks a bit calmer. Hopefully, Arthur’s made his message clear. Now it’s time to keep things moving and he continues reeling off the scripted words that he needs to say.

“Turn on your ship’s comm system and tell your crew to go to the main airlock. You will join them there and await further instruction.”

At the mention of his crew—which consists solely of Hunith—Merlin’s eyes widen. “Can I...I need—sir, I need to tell my mum what’s going on.”

“Inform her only what I’ve told you.”

“Yes, sir,” Merlin mumbles.

“Please follow the instructions you were given, Captain. A team of border agents will be arriving at your vessel shortly.”

“Yes, sir.”

It’s absolute torture to disconnect from Merlin, but he has to. Moving quickly, Arthur sends all the relevant information to his supervisor and hurries away from his desk. He needs to be part of the team that will go to the Kilgharrah and take Merlin and Hunith into custody. No matter how painful it’ll be, he wants the chance to touch Merlin and comfort both Merlin and Hunith as much as he can.

* * *

Half an hour later, the shuttle carrying the team of agents has attached to the outside of the Kilgharrah’s airlock. One of Arthur’s colleagues is scanning the inside of the ship and Arthur looks over his shoulder to see faint outlines on the screen, which must be Hunith and Merlin. They’re sitting on the floor, up against the wall opposite the airlock.

Then Arthur draws in a deep breath and braces himself as his co-worker taps on his tablet. The drones have transferred control of the Kilgharrah to the station and there’s a hiss as the old ship’s airlock clicks open. Arthur pulls out his stun gun and takes his position behind one of the other agents, putting his hand on his shoulder.

Once the airlock is open, they move into the ship and Arthur’s eyes immediately find Merlin. He’s staring at Arthur, his eyes wide and filled with tears and panic. Hunith is shaking and also crying. They’re holding hands as they sit side by side on the metal grating.

Seeing them in such pain makes Arthur’s throat tighten and his hands are shaking so hard that his gun is vibrating. But if he’s going to get Merlin out of this, he needs to follow protocol. “Captain, Mrs. Emrys. Put your hands behind your backs. We’re taking you into custody for attempting to smuggle illegal weapons into Albion.”

Merlin sucks in a sharp breath and opens his mouth as if to complain, but Arthur cuts him off, well aware that his communication device is busy recording every word that will be said here. “You are being recorded. You have the right to remain silent and anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.”

Thankfully, Merlin snaps his mouth shut and exchanges a terrified look with Hunith. Thankfully, Hunith seems to understand that every word Arthur said is meant to help them and she gently untangles her hand from Merlin and holds her hands behind her back.

Arthur pulls out two sets of handcuffs and steps behind them. His other co-workers are looking at their tablets and one of them glances at Arthur. “We’ll head up and check on the cargo.”

Nodding, Arthur holsters his gun and kneels down behind Merlin. “I’ll stay with them.”

It’s torture kneeling behind Merlin and being so close to him. He can see how badly Merlin’s shaking and it takes all of Arthur’s self-control not to wrap his arms around him to comfort him. Instead, he gently puts the cuffs around Merlin’s wrists, keeping them looser than they should be. When they snap shut, Merlin lets out a whimper and twitches. Seeing his reaction makes tears well up in Arthur’s eyes and he clenches his jaw so he doesn’t start crying. He’s never hated his job before, but he does now.

He shuffles over and loosely puts handcuffs on Hunith as well. When he’s done, he stands up and steps in front of them. It’s horrible to stand there, in his uniform, towering over two people he loves so dearly while they’re cowering on the ground, shaking and crying from fear. But he keeps his back straight and watches the other agents climb up into the cargo hold. He listens to their footsteps echo on the metal flooring as they walk away.

As soon as their footsteps have faded away, Arthur reaches up to turn off his communication device so it stops recording. He thinks he’ll get away with it. As far as protocol is concerned, he’s told Merlin and Hunith everything he had to tell them so it won’t be strange if there’s a bit of silence before the other agents return.

Aware that his time is limited, Arthur drops to his knees in front of them and gently touches both of their faces. “I turned off my comm device,” he whispers.

Immediately, Hunith stares at him, her eyes desperate. “Arthur, it was me. I put the crate there. Merlin had no idea, no idea at all. I put it there so it’s all my fault. Please, Arthur. Write that down.”

Briefly squeezing his eyes shut, Arthur takes his hand off Merlin’s face and gently squeezes Hunith’s shoulders. “We both know that’s not true.”

She frantically shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll make it be the truth. If anybody’s going to do ten years in prison, it’ll be me.”

Merlin lets out a cry of dismay and he turns frantic eyes on Arthur. “Don’t listen to her! You know she’s got nothing to do with this.”

Arthur holds up a soothing hand towards him and turns apologetic eyes on Hunith. “Hunith, I’m sorry. Even if I thought putting this on you would be a good thing to do—which it’s not and I’d never do that for multiple reasons—the evidence doesn’t support it. You aren’t the Captain. You don’t have a transport licence. Nothing that happens with the cargo is your responsibility and I’d never be able to falsify all the documents we’d need to make this story true. I’m sorry.”

Hunith’s eyes widen and she looks terrified. “Arthur, you can’t put my son into prison for ten years. That’s not—no. He didn’t do this. You know he didn’t.”

“I know, but it doesn’t matter. The evidence we already have is enough to convict him. If the other agents find the crate up there, there’s very little I can do.”

When her eyes fill with panic, Arthur’s about to reassure her that it’s not over. He’s going to do whatever he needs to in order to save Merlin. But putting Hunith into prison in his place isn’t a solution he’s even willing to entertain. Neither is killing his co-workers and going on the run right here and now. There has to be other ways.

But before he can get into any of that, Merlin’s face shatters as he starts sobbing. “I don’t know anything about that crate, Arthur,” he chokes out. “Please.”

Arthur’s heart is breaking. Or maybe it’s already in pieces. “I know.”

“You have to believe me. Please. I wouldn’t. You know I wouldn’t.”

“I know,” he whispers, shaking. “But I can’t make the evidence go away. I don’t know how that crate got up there or why, but it doesn’t matter.”

“I didn’t put it there!” Merlin sobs out. “I _wouldn’t._ Please, Arthur.”

Swallowing hard, Arthur puts his hands on Merlin’s face and brushes the tears off his cheeks. “I’ll figure this out, I promise.”

But Merlin doesn’t seem to be listening to him. “It’s ten years,” he sobs. “I can’t do ten years in prison. Please.”

Tightening his grip on Merlin’s face, Arthur gives him a pleading look. “Merlin, you have to calm down.”

“Arthur, I—”

Leaning over, Arthur presses his forehead against Merlin’s. “I know you’re scared. But I swear to you, I’m not going to let you rot in prison for ten years. I’m going to figure this out, alright?”

Sobbing, Merlin stares at him and Arthur pulls back and kisses him hard. “I love you and I swear, I’m going to get you out of this. But in order to do that, you have to do what I say, alright? From now until this situation’s sorted, you have to do exactly what I say. Can you do that?”

Merlin keeps crying and Hunith murmurs some quiet words in Ealdorian to him. To help calm him down, Arthur pulls Merlin into his arms and tangles his hand in Merlin’s hair, pressing his face against Arthur’s neck, Merlin’s tears soaking into the collar of his uniform. He rubs Merlin’s back, torn between the desire to let Merlin calm down on his own time while also very aware that his time is limited and they need to get things sorted before the other agents return.

“I’m going to get you out of this, I promise,” he whispers into Merlin’s ear. “Maybe I’ll find a way to fix it today or tomorrow. Or I’ll smuggle you out of the courthouse or break you out of prison. But I promise that you’re not going to serve ten years. I won’t let it happen. But to do that, you have to calm down so I can tell you what you need to do, alright? You have to help me help you.”

Merlin’s shaking in his arms and sobbing, but he manages to nod. He sniffs hard and draws in shaky breaths until he’s pulling back from Arthur.

Arthur gives him a small, proud smile. “There you go. That’s my Merlin.” He brushes the tears off Merlin’s face and uses his uniform sleeve to wipe his nose for him.

It’s clearly a struggle for Merlin to keep his panic under control, but he keeps breathing and staring at Arthur, hopefully soaking up some of the strength Arthur’s trying to give him.

Finally, Merlin nods. “Alright. What should I do?” His voice is still choked with tears, but he sounds calmer.

“You’re going to follow instructions to the letter, but you’re only going to speak when you’re asked questions.” Arthur puts his hands on Merlin’s face and gives him a pleading look again. “I know you want to proclaim your innocence and explain your side of the story and I promise, you’re going to get that chance. But giving out information when you’re not asked might result in you saying too much or saying the wrong thing. Any unprompted word you say could bring that prison cell closer. Do you understand?”

Merlin’s eyes widen, but he nods. “Yes, sir.” Then he glances at Hunith and his eyes widen again. “Arthur, what about mum? You know she’s got nothing to do with the cargo.”

Arthur nods and shoots Hunith a reassuring smile. “I know. Hunith, we have to take you into custody because of protocol, but you’ll be released within a few hours.” Then his face hardens again as he grows more serious. “When you’re released, you’ll go out of the booking centre and go down two levels to the shops. There’s a bench in front of the bakery and you’re going to sit there and wait for me.”

“Can’t she come back to the ship?” Merlin asks.

“No. The Kilgharrah’s going to be seized while we investigate. But don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything. All you two have to do is obey my instructions. Hunith, do you understand?”

She nods, her eyes still wide with fear but she looks a bit calmer. “Can I see Merlin once I’m released?”

“Unfortunately, not today. Merlin’s going to be questioned and processed and that’ll take hours. Visiting hours will be over by then. But if Merlin isn’t out by tomorrow, I’ll make sure you can see him.”

Hunith glances at Merlin and she whispers something in Ealdorian to him and Arthur hears his own name mentioned. Merlin’s nodding and briefly squeezes his eyes shut. When he opens them, he’s still scared but even calmer than before.

Then Hunith glances at Arthur. “We’ll do whatever you say.”

Arthur stares at both of them, wanting to make sure they understand how important this is. “Only speak when asked questions.”

They both murmur “Yes, sir” and Arthur’s heart is slowly calming.

Then Merlin shifts a bit and he's anxious again. “Arthur, please promise me something.”

That makes Arthur’s heart ache. He’ll get Merlin out of this, but he can’t make any specific promises because he has no idea how things will go. “You know I can’t—”

“No, nothing to do with me.” He draws in a shaky breath. “If I have to be locked up for a while, take care of mum. Please. Promise me.”

Arthur nods. He doesn’t even have to think about it. “Of course. Always.”

Hunith lets out a soft sigh. “Arthur, I don’t want you causing yourself trouble on my account.”

“Taking care of you is never trouble,” Arthur says, his voice firm. Then he looks back at Merlin. “I’ll take care of her, you have my word.”

Merlin slumps a bit, a small hint of relief seeping into him. “Thank you.”

Just then, the echoing sound of boots thudding on the ceiling above come closer and Arthur quickly stands up and steps back as he reaches up to turn his comm device back on.

The agents come down the ladder. One of them looks bored and the other’s busy typing on his tablet. He glances up at Arthur and nods. “The illegal goods were confirmed. They’re projectile guns, 20 of them.”

Merlin lets out a small whimper and Arthur’s heart sinks because one of his plans has just shattered to pieces. But that’s alright. He’ll find another way. He glances down at Merlin and meets his terrified gaze and tries to communicate with his eyes that he needs Merlin to stay strong and not give up hope.

Merlin stares back, shaking, but he slowly clenches his jaw and straightens up. Excellent.

“Captain, Mrs. Emrys. We’re going to take you to the station for processing.”

He steps behind Merlin and gently pulls him to his feet while one of the other agents helps Hunith up. Then Arthur’s slowly guiding Merlin towards the airlock.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few hours are a blur to Arthur. He’s forced to leave Merlin and Hunith while they’re being processed and put into holding cells in the booking centre, but he has more important things to do anyway. He rushes back to control and puts together all the documentation he’ll need to clear Hunith’s name and get her released. Once he’s gone over the documents with his supervisor, he’s given permission to ask the guards to release Hunith and he quickly submits the order to the booking centre.

Then he’s hurrying out of control and taking the lift down to the main level. He pushes his way through the afternoon crowd until he’s at the bakery. Seeing the shop reminds Arthur that today was supposed to go very differently. He had planned to meet Hunith at the docking bay as soon as the Kilgharrah docked and he was going to escort her to the Sky Loft for her spa day. By this time, she would have already spent a few hours relaxing and being pampered. Instead, she’s spent the last few hours in a holding cell.

By this time, Arthur would have been finished Merlin’s inspection, which he would have passed with flying colours. Right now, Arthur would be busy doing other inspections and anxiously looking at the time, desperate for his shift to end so he could pick Merlin up and go to the Sky Loft for their dinner.

Hunith would have been so happy and excited to tell them all about her special day. Merlin would have been so happy to be at the Loft and Arthur had been looking forward to treating them both to a dinner and then a wonderful evening with Merlin.

Instead, Merlin’s been charged with weapon smuggling, he’s spent the last few hours in a holding cell and if things continue going very badly, Merlin might end up spending the next ten years in prison.

It’s an absolutely awful turn of events, but Arthur can’t let himself get distracted.

Fifteen minutes later, Hunith is hurrying towards him. She still looks scared and Arthur doesn’t think twice before pulling her into a tight hug. “It’s alright. Everything’s going to be alright, I promise.”

She’s shaking as she clutches the back of his uniform. “He must be so scared,” she whispers.

“I’ll go see him as soon as I’ve taken care of you.”

Pulling back, Hunith stares at him. “Arthur, you know he had nothing to do with those weapons being in the cargo hold.”

Arthur sighs. “I know, but the weapons are there. They got into the cargo hold somehow and Merlin’s responsible for what’s put into his cargo hold. Right now, all the evidence points to Merlin attempting to smuggle them into Albion. The only thing not supporting the theory is his insistence that he didn’t do it, and that’s not good enough. The trick is to prove that he didn’t know anything about it and then figure out who did put them there, how, when and why.”

Hope flares in her eyes. “Can you figure out who put that crate into the ship?”

Arthur nods. “That’s what I’m going to try to do. But first, I’m going to take you somewhere safe where you can stay until the Kilgharrah’s released.”

She makes a dismissive noise. “Don’t worry about me. Go worry about Merlin.”

But Arthur shakes his head. “I _will_ worry about you because not worrying about you is impossible and I also promised Merlin to worry about you. Now, come on.”

Taking her by the hand, he quickly leads her towards the lifts. Once they’re inside, Hunith frowns in confusion as Arthur presses the button to take them to the top level. “Arthur, I can’t afford to stay anywhere on the upper level. I’ll find something on the lower levels, don’t worry.”

Arthur gently catches her hand when she goes to press a button for the lower levels where the cheap hotels are located. “Don’t even think about it. Besides, the room’s already paid for so there’s no point in wasting it.”

Her eyes widen. “I can’t stay at the Loft! Not while Merlin’s in a holding cell.”

He squeezes her hand and glances at her. The irony of the situation is sickening, but it’s the best solution Arthur could think of. “The room’s already paid for and it’ll make both Merlin and I feel better if we know you’re in a safe hotel, rather than dealing with drunks on the lower levels.”

“But I can’t—”

“Hunith, please. I need to stay focused on Merlin and he needs to stay focused on himself.”

That makes her protests fade and she nods.

Once they reach the upper level, Arthur quickly leads her into the Sky Loft’s front entrance and goes up to the reception desk. His stomach twists when he thinks about how different this should be. He should be checking in with an excited Merlin standing next to him, on their way to pick up Hunith from the spa and then go to have an amazing dinner. Instead, Merlin’s in a holding cell several levels below and none of this is exciting or happy.

He manages to paste a strained smile on his face for the front desk agent. “Hello. My name’s Arthur’s Pendragon and I have a few reservations for tonight but I’ll need to cancel one of them.”

The words nearly get stuck in his throat as his heart squeezes, but he pushes through. He explains that Hunith will be staying in the other room he’s booked and holds out his credit chip so they can add it to the system and easily charge any room service costs or additional nights to it.

Hunith looks scandalized by it all and she tries pulling his hand back, but Arthur gently untangles his hand from her grasp and hands the chip over. “Hunith, please.”

She draws in a shaky breath and clenches her jaw. “Right. Sorry. This whole thing...”

Arthur grabs her hands and squeezes them gently. “I know. I know everything’s a mess but I’m going to get things sorted, I promise. What you have to do is stay safe, here in the hotel. You need to stay healthy, eat and get rest. Please.”

The front desk agent is sliding a key card across the desk and Arthur holds it up for Hunith. She stares at the card for a long moment, then takes it and nods firmly. “Alright.”

He smiles and bends down to kiss her on the forehead. “Thank you.”

He’s never been openly affectionate with Hunith before, but he can’t seem to help himself. Besides, it makes him feel better and it makes her smile softly, so clearly it’s beneficial for both of them. When he thinks about it for a moment longer, Arthur realizes that maybe they’re both finding comfort from it because that’s what Merlin would be doing if the situation were reversed. Merlin would be the one hugging and kissing both of them without a thought, doing whatever he can to provide physical comfort to either of them. But Merlin’s not here and they have to fill that hole so they can stay focused on helping him.

She draws in a shaky breath as she clutches the card. “Please, go help Merlin.”

“I will.” He quickly guides her to the moving walkway that will bring her to her room. “I might have to leave the station during the investigation and I’ll probably be out of comm range. If you have any problems, call the front desk, alright?”

“Yes.” Then she stares at him for a moment before pulling him into a tight hug. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he mumbles into her shoulder. Then he releases her and steps back.

Hunith steps onto the walkway and slowly drifts away from him, the key card clutched in her hand. Arthur watches her for another moment before he’s turning and hurrying out of the hotel.

Time to find out how a crate of illegal weapons got into Merlin’s cargo hold.

* * *

Having Merlin sitting across the table from him, the magnetic handcuffs keeping his hands stuck to the surface of the table and his face pale is heartbreaking. His eyes are filled with fear and he looks so small and scared.

Sitting next to another agent, Arthur keeps his eyes on the tablet and scrolls through the information on it as he desperately swallows through his tight throat and resists the urge to swing around the table and pull Merlin into his arms.

He still can’t believe that this is happening. Instead of taking Merlin for dinner and then spending a wonderful night having sex with him, Arthur’s about to interrogate him regarding a crate of illegal weapons found in his cargo hold.

Instead of being Arthur and Merlin tonight, they’re a border agent and an accused weapons smuggler.

Merlin. An accused weapons smuggler.

_Merlin._

The whole thing is sickening and terrifying, but Arthur focuses on his breathing and doing what he needs to do. If he falls apart, he might be condemning Merlin to ten years in prison. That renews his resolve to push his feelings aside and he puts the tablet down and stares at Merlin.

Merlin’s looking down at the table, shifting his wrists within the unmoving handcuffs, looking freaked out and scared.

“Captain, we’re going to begin.”

That makes Merlin’s eyes snap up to meet Arthur’s eyes. He opens his mouth, but Arthur discreetly lifts an eyebrow, trying to remind Merlin of his earlier instructions while also being conscious of the devices located all over this room which are busy recording everything. Thankfully, Merlin seems to realize that Arthur hadn’t asked a question and that means not saying anything. He snaps his mouth shut.

It’s a struggle not to smile but Arthur takes a second to stare at Merlin, hopefully communicating his pride through his eyes. Arthur has to be very careful because if anybody finds out about their personal relationship, Arthur won’t be allowed to continue being part of the investigation. “State your name for the record.”

“Merlin Emrys.”

“State the name of your vessel.”

“The Kilgharrah.”

“What type of vessel is it?”

They move through basic questions, all of which are purely for protocol because Arthur knows all the answers. But then they get to the important part. “Captain, do you understand what you’re being charged with?”

“Yes, sir.” Merlin’s voice is a bit flat, which is good. The basic questions at the start are meant to calm people so the rest of the questioning doesn’t get derailed by high emotions. Hopefully, Merlin will continue keeping it together.

“What are you being charged with?”

“Attempting to smuggle illegal weapons into Albion.”

Arthur glances down at his tablet. “We located a crate filled with illegal guns in your cargo hold. This crate was unmanifested and lacked any supporting documentation.” He slides the tablet closer to Merlin. “Do you recognize this crate, Captain?”

Merlin leans over and studies the image of the crate. “No.”

“Did you put this crate into your cargo hold?”

“No.”

Following procedure, Arthur asks the same question in a variety of different ways and his colleague adds in a few of his own. It’s all an attempt to confuse Merlin and get him to change his answer and thus, prove that he’s lying. But Merlin’s clearly telling the truth so he doesn’t fall into the traps created by the interrogation tactic.

As far as Merlin’s concerned, he’s never seen that crate before, which is both a good and bad thing. It’s bad because Merlin should have been aware of the crate’s presence and that means Merlin will have to face some punishment, regardless of the outcome. But the good news is that Arthur’s plan to prove that Merlin was tricked into unknowingly smuggling the crate is continuing to grow.

Arthur looks at the tablet and pulls up a map tracing the Kilgharrah’s last trip since Merlin had left Station Four a few weeks ago. “Do you have any guesses when this crate was put into your cargo hold, Captain?”

“I do.”

“Please elaborate.”

“It had to be while I was docked at Market Square. Prior to going to the Square, I did a drop-off at the Resort. My entire haul was for them so the entire cargo hold was emptied. I know I was empty when leaving the Resort.”

Here comes the tricky part. “Your ship has no internal video recordings so we have no way of verifying this information.”

Prior to today, Arthur’s always been grateful that the Kilgharrah doesn’t have security cameras in the cargo hold. It’s something he’s tried convincing Merlin to let him pay for, but Merlin’s never seen the point of it and brushed off his concerns. Despite knowing how important security cameras in the cargo hold could be, Arthur had never seriously pushed him to accept his offer for one reason and one reason only: because if the cargo hold were under the watchful eyes of security cameras, Arthur wouldn’t be able to shove Merlin against a stack of crates and kiss him in the middle of his inspection.

The thought that maybe their personal relationship and Arthur’s prioritization of it over their jobs might result in Merlin spending a decade in prison makes his heart sink as his stomach clenches.

“That’s true,” Merlin says. “But I keep a constant vessel weight record. You can compare the results together with my navigation history and that will confirm I was empty when leaving the Resort.”

That’s something Arthur hadn’t thought to check and he and his co-worker bend over the tablet and sort through the data they have access to from the Kilgharrah. After a few minutes of comparing dates, locations and weights, Arthur confirms that Merlin was correct. “Your records confirm that you were empty when leaving the Resort.”

A small smile spreads over Merlin’s face and he looks relieved. Arthur feels just as relieved because they’re slowly getting closer to figuring out where the crate had come from, which means Arthur’s closer to finding the person who will serve time for this, instead of Merlin.

Arthur checks Merlin’s navigational records and confirms that he’d flown from the Resort straight to Market Square, before coming to Station Four. “Tell me everything that happened from the moment you arrived at the Square until you left. Don’t leave anything out, no matter how small the detail might be.”

“I hailed them and spoke to Freya. She told me which berth to dock in. It was berth 7 so I docked and powered down. I was chatting with Freya about random things. I don’t recall the details.”

“What happened after you finished docking?”

“Freya sent me the manifest and all the supporting docs for my pick up. I went through everything for a few minutes, like I usually do. Checking for any missing paperwork or anything that jumps out at me. Everything seemed normal so I went up to the hold and opened it. I greeted the station loader who was sitting in the crane.”

“Who was the loader? I need a name.”

“Valiant. He’s new but he’d loaded me a few times previously. We chatted a bit, then he loaded me. I scanned and checked all the crates as they came in and everything matched what was in the docs.” Then Merlin’s jaw tightens a bit. “Then I was done and left.”

Arthur narrows his eyes at him because that last part had been said very abruptly and Merlin looks a bit nervous. Well, more nervous than he already was. It makes Arthur’s stomach clench because he doesn’t understand why Merlin would speed through that last part of the story when it’s the most important bit.

Unless...maybe Merlin has been lying all along? But no, that can’t be true. Arthur refuses to believe it. There has to be something else going on. Some other explanation for why Merlin’s behaving a bit strangely.

“I need you to take us through the loading process, step by step. Not each crate, but I need to know exactly what happened during the loading process and what you did when it was complete.”

Merlin’s jaw shifts and he stares at Arthur, then his eyes drop to the table. Shit. That’s not good. “I supervised the loading and I know I checked every crate that came in. But then...”

Arthur’s heart starts racing with fear. Please no. Please, please, please no. “Then what?”

“I didn’t stay to observe the last part of the loading.”

Arthur blinks as the agent sitting next to him shifts on his seat. “What?”

“I...didn’t wait. Valiant had two more crates to go, I saw them up on the floor next to the crane, I knew I had the docs...so I went back down. I asked Valiant to hail me when he’d finished putting the last two crates inside.”

Arthur sits there, feeling dumbfounded. “You left the cargo hold before loading was complete?”

Merlin’s breathing is speeding up and he’s staring at the table, his face tight with misery. “Yes,” he whispered.

It feels as if somebody’s sucked the air out of the room. “You left your cargo hold unattended while the hold was wide open?”

“Yes, sir.” This whisper is even quieter.

“Why the hell would you do that?!” Arthur snaps out. The words are unprofessional, but he can’t help it. Merlin’s a huge part of the logistics chain that brings goods in and out of Albion. He has an essential role to play. It’s Arthur’s job to catch any goods that shouldn’t be coming into Albion, but it’s Merlin’s job to do his best to make sure there’s nothing for Arthur to catch.

But Merlin had shirked those responsibilities. He’d left his cargo hold unattended because he got bored or impatient or whatever else. Never mind weapons—somebody could have put an explosive on Merlin’s ship! Not only would it have exploded and killed him and Hunith, but it might have gone off when he was close to the station and thousands of people could have been killed.

All because Merlin didn’t feel like waiting for two more crates to be loaded?!

Merlin’s shaking and his eyes are bright with unshed tears. He looks miserable. “I’m sorry, sir,” he whispers.

“I need an answer, Captain. What possible reason is there for you to abandon your responsibilities?”

Merlin takes a deep, shaky breath and briefly closes his eyes again, as if he’s about to confess to something he’d rather not. “I had a very important...appointment at the station,” he chokes out. “I wanted to get here as soon as possible.”

The full truth hits Arthur as if he’d run into a wall.

Merlin was hurrying to get to Station Four because of their date. Because he was excited to see Arthur and go to the Sky Loft for the first time. He’d been so excited that he’d allowed his loading to finish unsupervised and that resulted in him carrying unidentified cargo all the way from Market Square to the station.

Merlin could have been killed. Hunith could have been killed. Thousands of other people—including Arthur—could have been killed. As it is, nobody’s been killed because that unidentified crate hadn’t contained explosives but instead, it contained illegal weapons. But that still doesn’t remove the danger. If the station drones hadn’t caught them, Merlin would have probably successfully delivered them and remained blissfully unaware that he’d delivered weapons that might be used to kill who knows how many people.

Not only did Merlin risk his life and countless others, but his foolish lapse of judgement and momentary impatience has left a ten year prison sentence hanging over his head.

“I’m sorry,” Merlin whispers, sniffing back tears, his hands shaking within the handcuffs attached to the table. “I’m so sorry. I’m aware that I put thousands of people’s lives at risk due to my stupidity. I wish I could go back, but I can’t.” He raises his eyes and stares into Arthur’s shocked eyes. “I’m sorry, sir.”

Arthur’s still reeling from the revelation that once again, their personal relationship had led to a direct impact on their professional lives. But unlike Arthur not wanting the Kilgharrah to have security cameras installed, Merlin’s decision could have led to much worse consequences.

But Arthur forcefully pushes those thoughts aside. What’s done is done. He and Merlin definitely have to talk about things later. But first, Arthur has to make sure Merlin doesn’t end up in prison for a decade due to him being overly excited about their date at the Sky Loft. “Tell me everything that happened after you left the hold.”

Merlin sniffs back tears and Arthur’s hands jerk to reach over and wipe his face for him. He barely catches himself in time. “I went back down and told my mum we’re leaving. I went to the cockpit and hailed Freya and started up the engines. About a minute later, Valiant hailed me and told me he was finished. I closed the hold and left. We came straight here.”

It must have been Valiant. Or one of the other station loaders. But probably Valiant. He must have seen the opportunity to put the crate into Merlin’s hold and took it.

Now all that’s left is for Arthur to find evidence, proving everything that Merlin’s saying. Then he’ll deal with everything else.

Grabbing his tablet, Arthur stands up. “Thank you, Captain. We’re going to continue our investigation.”

Merlin’s still sniffing back tears and he stares up at Arthur, looking devastated. “Thank you, sir.”

As Arthur stares at him, he’s overcome with so many different emotions. Once again, he’s cringing at Merlin calling him ‘sir’. He wants to yell at Merlin for being an idiot. He wants to yell at himself for also being an idiot, due to the camera thing. He wants to pull Merlin into his arms, comfort him and reassure him that his confession has actually helped his case tremendously. But because he can’t do any of that, he looks down at his tablet and waits until guards have taken Merlin away.

Then he’s glancing at the other agent. “Fancy a trip to Market Square?”

His co-worker grunts and stands up. “Yeah, but let me go get some lunch first. I’ll meet you in the shuttle bay.”

“Right.”

* * *

A few hours later, they’re docking at Market Square and Arthur’s exhausted. His shift should have ended hours ago, but he’s not going to stop until he has the evidence he needs to clear Merlin’s name. Or he drops from exhaustion. One of the two.

Thankfully, the shuttle has an advanced auto-pilot system and it docks itself, so all Arthur has to do is hail Freya and explain what they’re doing there.

A few minutes after docking, Arthur and the other agent are striding through the enormous warehouse along the brightly lit pedestrian path, dwarfed by the towering cranes that are moving large crates around; their operators looking tiny inside the large machines.

They reach the office complex and find Freya, who directs them to the security office where they’re going to be allowed to view the footage from Merlin’s pick-up.

The head of security looks up when Arthur steps into the open doorway and knocks on the doorframe. “Hello, sir.”

The man’s eyes widen a bit as he takes in Arthur’s uniform and his eyes linger on Arthur’s gun. From experience, Arthur knows it’s not because he’s necessarily guilty of anything but the uniform and gun are naturally intimidating and make people ill at ease.

“How can I help you, Agent?”

Arthur quickly introduces himself and his partner and explains that they need to view the warehouse’s security footage as part of an investigation. Thankfully, the man is cooperative and once he’s checked their identification, he gets off his chair and gestures at the array of screens. “Please, help yourself. I’ll show you how to navigate the system.”

Taking the offered seat, Arthur listens to the instructions on how to use the security equipment, then the man walks to the door. “I’ll be up front with Freya if you need anything.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Arthur wastes no time navigating to the time when Merlin would have arrived and finding the various camera angles that will show them what’s happening in berth 7. Within a few minutes, Arthur sees the familiar shape of the Kilgharrah docking. The berth’s locking clamps grab hold of the ship and the engines turn off before the entire berth sinks down so the top of the cargo hold is level with the warehouse floor. Several minutes go by, during which nothing happens. Then the cargo hold’s roof panels slide open and Merlin’s standing in the enormous empty hold, waving up at one of the crane operators, who had swung around to face him. Unfortunately, the noise in the warehouse drowns out what he’s saying, but it doesn’t really matter. Merlin and the crane operator spend a few minutes chatting, Merlin smiling brightly and laughing from time to time.

Seeing Merlin smiling like that makes Arthur’s heart squeeze. He remembers Merlin had called him just prior to docking at the Square, while Arthur was getting dressed for his shift.

Merlin’s holding a tablet and once he’s finished chatting with the crane operator, he focuses on the tablet and steps to the side. The crane operator begins moving the enormous crates into the hold, one by one. Merlin’s frowning at his tablet and periodically lifting it to point at the crate. He must be scanning the contents and comparing them to scans and documentation Freya had given him. So far, Merlin’s doing everything right, but if this is how the rest of the pick up went, Arthur wouldn’t be here.

He speeds up the recording and watches crate after crate being put into the cargo hold, all under Merlin’s watchful eye. But in between crates, Merlin’s shifting around, constantly smiling at nothing in particular.

His partner snorts. “Yeah, he wasn’t kidding that he was excited about something. He can barely stand still.”

Arthur briefly closes his eyes as his heart aches because he knows what was going through Merlin’s mind. He was busy fantasizing about how amazing their dinner and special night was going to be. Arthur had been doing the same—fidgeting around at his desk and hoping time would go by faster.

Then out of the blue, Merlin waves to get the crane operator’s attention and says something to him. The operator laughs and nods as he points down at two crates that are still next to the crane. Moments later, Merlin’s grin gets even bigger and he runs towards the ladder, leading down from the hold. Arthur’s mentally yelling at him to stop, to come back, to forget about their silly date. But of course, none of that would do any good now because Merlin’s currently sitting in a holding cell back at the station. His freedom rests in Arthur’s hands.

Being reminded of that makes Arthur pushes all other thoughts out of his head and stares at the crane operator. Because this is the big moment. This is the footage that will hopefully clear Merlin’s name.

“Here we go,” his partner mumbles.

The operator dutifully puts the last two crates into the hold while the Kilgharrah’s engines turn on, evidence of how eager Merlin is to leave. But then the operator’s turning the crane and extending the neck to reach the top of the nearest rack. He shifts a few crates around and the crane clamps onto an ordinary looking crate. Zooming in, Arthur sees the identification code written on the side of the crate and his partner’s scrolling over his tablet.

“Yeah, that’s the one. The numbers match.”

A small hint of relief blooms in Arthur’s chest and he eagerly watches as the crane operator puts the crate on top of a stack in Merlin’s cargo hold. “Does the position match?”

“Yeah. That’s definitely the one. Looks like Emrys was right.”

Despite how horrible it feels to know that Merlin had disregarded his responsibilities and Arthur’s watching evidence of that right now, it’s very reassuring to watch everything happening exactly the way Merlin had described. A few moments after the crate of weapons are smuggled into Merlin’s hold, the doors slide closed and the berth rises up and the docking clamps release.

Arthur can actually see Merlin sitting in the cockpit, grinning ear to ear as he waves to the crane operator. The bastard actually waves back at Merlin, smiling at him.

Then Merlin puts the Kilgharrah into reverse and pulls out of the berth, eager to get to the station and his date with Arthur, completely unaware that he’s carrying illegal goods in his cargo hold.

There’s a lot wrong here, but Arthur can’t help feeling excited. He definitely has enough to clear Merlin’s name from the smuggling charges. Merlin will face consequences for blatantly disregarding his responsibilities, but he won’t face prison time.

Instead, it’s now Arthur’s job to go find the bastard who had taken advantage of Merlin’s trust in him and nearly put him into prison for ten years. Not to mention the harm that the weapons themselves would have created.

He glances at his partner as he pulls out his tablet to transfer the footage over. “Do you want to go get the security chief? We’ll have him identify if the crane operator’s Valiant and then find out where he is.”

* * *

It turns out that the crane operator is indeed Valiant and it just so happens that he’s working today. Not wanting to get into a fight against a man who’s controlling a towering crane with jaws that could rip a ship in half, Arthur has Freya call Valiant into the office and she happily complies, a hard edge in her voice. Apparently, she’s fond of Merlin.

The rest goes very quickly. Valiant comes into the office and puts a mockingly polite smile on his face when he sees Arthur and his partner. “Hello, gentlemen.” Then he glances at Freya. “Where did you say you put the muffins?”

Freya only glares in response as Arthur and his partner carefully corner Valiant. “Sir, I’m placing you under arrest for attempting to smuggle illegal weapons into Albion.”

Valiant puts a comically confused expression on his face. “You must be mistaken, sir. I don’t know anything about illegal weapons.”

Arthur pulls out his handcuffs. “Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

“I will do no such thing. Clearly, you’ve made a mistake. Given the education level required to do your job, that’s not surprising. But I’m not going to go along with this charade.”

“I won’t ask you again,” Arthur says, his voice hard as he glares at the bastard who had nearly put the love of his life in prison.

When Valiant stubbornly lifts his chin and opens his mouth to complain again, Arthur and his partner grab him and turn him around, shoving him up against the front desk with more force than necessary before Arthur puts the handcuffs on him, making sure they’re tighter than they need to be. Not enough to cause any problems that Valiant can whine about later, but tight enough that they’re uncomfortable.

“How dare you?! I demand to know what I’m being charged with!”

“I already told you. You put a crate of illegal weapons on the Kilgharrah, in an attempt to smuggle them into Albion.”

“The Kilgharrah’s not my vessel! If that idiot Merlin had something on his ship that he shouldn’t have, it’s not my fault!”

The insult makes Arthur see red and he quickly steps back from Valiant and lets his partner take over before he throws the bastard out of an airlock. His partner patiently explains that they have footage showing Valiant putting the crate into the hold, all while Valiant continues ranting.

They drag Valiant to the shuttle and begin the short trip back to the station, ignoring Valiant’s constant professions of his innocents and insults against Merlin and all of their intelligence levels. Arthur slowly finds his anger fading away the closer they get to the station because he realizes it doesn’t matter what Valiant says. He’s going to prison for ten years and Arthur has enough evidence to clear Merlin’s name.

In just a few hours, he’ll have the love of his life back and Valiant will spend a decade rotting in prison. That’s all the revenge Arthur needs.


	4. Chapter 4

Hours later, Arthur’s back in the interrogation room, facing Merlin.

Merlin’s staring at him with huge eyes and he looks terribly anxious, but he’s obeying Arthur’s order not to say anything unless asked a question.

Arthur shoots him a tiny smile, which is hopefully too small to be seen by the security cameras. “We went to Market Square and found footage confirming what you told us.”

Merlin’s eyes are huge. “What—what does that mean?”

“We’ve confirmed that Valiant put the crate of weapons into your hold. You’ve been cleared of the smuggling charge, Captain.”

Letting out a huge breath, Merlin slumps in his seat, his hands going limp within the confines of the handcuffs on the table top. “Thank God.”

Merlin’s relief mirrors what’s in Arthur’s heart and once again, he hates his job. He wants to hug Merlin and share his relief. Instead, Arthur has to stay professional. “However, I have to inform you that you’ll be facing a fine for failure to keep the transportation chain secure and also for filing a false declaration when you arrived at the border.”

That makes Merlin frown slightly, as Arthur knew it would so he clarifies. “You broke the security of the transportation chain by leaving your cargo hold unattended and not checking all of your cargo prior to leaving Market Square. The border declaration you’ve filled out hundreds of times asks you to confirm that you’re aware of everything in your cargo hold and you stated yes. You knew you hadn’t done a final check so that was a falsehood.”

Merlin sighs softly and some of his relief fades as worry fills his eyes again. “How much is the fine, sir?”

There’s no way to soften the blow. “10,000 Albs for each offence, so 20,000 total.”

All the colour drains from Merlin’s face because that’s more than he makes in a year. Once again, Arthur’s cursing the necessary professional distance between them. He wants to tell Merlin that he’s going to pay the fine as soon as the paperwork is processed. Merlin can decide whether to pay him back or not and in what instalments he wants to repay him. Arthur doesn’t care. All he cares about is that Merlin’s safe and they can put this entire nightmare behind them.

But he can’t tell Merlin any of that. Not yet. So he slides the tablet towards him and reaches over to undo the handcuffs. “Please sign the form, Captain. By signing you’re acknowledging the fine and that you understand the reason for it. You’ll receive paperwork within a few days notifying you of the payment terms.”

Merlin still looks worried, but he dutifully signs the form with his finger before looking up at Arthur. He looks like he’s holding his breath.

Arthur can’t help the small smile that’s crossing his lips. “We have to finish processing a bit of paperwork, but then you’ll be free to go.”

A big smile appears on Merlin’s face and he lets out a long breath. “Thank you, sir.”

It’s taking all of Arthur’s self-restraint not to grin back at him and jump over the table to hug him. Instead, he grabs the tablet and rushes out so he can finish getting Merlin his freedom.

* * *

An hour later, Arthur’s standing by the booking centre entrance with Hunith next to him. He’d taken the opportunity to change out of his uniform because he thinks Merlin might not appreciate seeing him wearing it. While getting changed, Arthur had again been reminded that they really need to talk about a lot of things, but not right now.

Right now, Arthur’s anxiously waiting next to Hunith, tightly clutching her hand as they stare at the door.

Finally, Merlin emerges and looks around with wide eyes before he spots them. He’s still pale and looks exhausted but he’s smiling as he runs right to them and grabs Hunith in a tight hug while reaching out for Arthur with his other hand.

Arthur wraps his arms around both of them and presses his forehead against the side of Merlin’s face, breathing in his scent as his heart keeps saying ‘thank God, thank God, thank God’. They all stand there, shaking and clinging to each other.

“It’s really over?” Merlin mumbles against Hunith’s hair, but his words are for Arthur.

“Yes. Well, not quite, but the worst of it is over. You’ll probably have to testify at Valiant’s trail if he decides to plead not guilty.”

“When’s the fine due?”

Arthur tightens his grip on both Merlin and Hunith and kisses Merlin’s cheek. “Don’t worry about it. It’s already been paid.”

Merlin frowns and pulls back from Hunith stare at him. “What do you mean?”

“I paid it as soon as I put the paperwork through. You’ll see the confirmation in your system when you’re home.”

“I—”

Hunith’s eyes light up. “The ship’s been released?”

Arthur nods, smiling. “Yes. I meant what I said. Aside from a possible court date, you’re both free to go.”

“Arthur! You paid the fine?!” Merlin sounds scandalized. “That’s 20,000 Albs!”

“Yes. And now that’s 20,000 Albs that you don’t have to worry about.”

“But I—”

Arthur presses his fingers to Merlin’s lips. “Hush. It’s done and I’m not taking it back. I don’t want the fine hanging over you. I want you to put this entire thing behind you.”

Merlin sighs, his eyes soft. “I’m paying you back.”

“If you want to. I don’t care.”

“I will. I’ll pay you back. I can do about 200 Albs a month, so it’ll take me a while.”

Arthur smiles. “Honestly, I don’t care. What I care about is that you’re alright.”

Hunith grabs his hand and squeezes it. When Arthur glances at her, he notices she has tears in her eyes. “Thank you, Arthur. For all of this.”

That makes Merlin’s face crumble and he’s suddenly crying as he grabs for Arthur. From one moment to the next, Arthur has both Merlin and Hunith clutching him and he wraps his arms around them, kissing the sides of both their faces. “It’s alright,” he whispers. “Everything’s alright now.”

“I don’t even know what to say. You saved me from prison, you saved me from bankruptcy, you saved my ship, you saved my business, you saved mum’s life. Well, not literally on that last one, but you know what I mean...” Merlin whispers into his neck.

“It’s alright.”

“But it’s not. All of this happened because I was an idiot and put so many people at risk and caused such a mess.”

Arthur kisses Merlin’s temple. “Hush. Give yourself a break. You’ve been through hell and the last thing you need is to torture yourself over how it happened.”

“I can’t just—”

“Of course not. But not today. Not tonight. Tonight, we’re going home, we’ll get dinner delivered and have a nice, relaxing night. Yeah?”

It takes a moment and some whispered Ealdorian words from Hunith, but Merlin finally nods against Arthur’s neck. “Alright. Let’s go home.”

* * *

It’s clear how relieved both Hunith and Merlin are to be back on the Kilgharrah. For Arthur, the return feels strange. He went from associating this ship with pure happiness to it being a place of darkness where he had to arrest Hunith and Merlin. When they enter the airlock, Arthur’s eyes immediately go to the spot on the floor where they’d cowered at Arthur’s feet, their hands handcuffed behind their backs and their faces covered in fear and tears.

It’s difficult getting that image out of his head and Arthur knows it’ll be a while until he’s able to stop thinking about it. Once again, that reminds him that he needs to talk to Merlin, but definitely not tonight.

Arthur goes to the cockpit and scrolls through the takeaway menus Merlin has for the station restaurants and calls in their order. Once it arrives, they all sit clustered around the kitchen table, Merlin in the middle. Despite how hungry they all should be, none of them can eat very much and Arthur keeps one hand beneath the table, clutching Merlin’s leg, while Hunith periodically leans over to touch Merlin’s face.

Without discussing it, they all seem to decide that they want to spend the night together. It seems Hunith is as desperate as Arthur not to let Merlin out of sight and they all pile into Hunith’s bed after getting changed into pajamas, with Arthur using the spare pair he keeps in Merlin’s closet.

There’s barely enough room for all three of them on the bed and Arthur decides if he notices the other two are uncomfortably squeezed during the night, he’ll just grab a spare blanket and sleep on the floor. Sleeping without having Merlin within eyesight isn’t happening.

Maybe Hunith anticipates Arthur’s upcoming sacrifice because she makes him get on the bed first, up against the wall. Then Merlin, followed by Hunith, which effectively blocks Arthur in. Devious woman.

Both Arthur and Hunith wrap an arm across Merlin’s chest and stay pressed close to him. Arthur nuzzles his face and presses his nose against Merlin’s cheek, soaking in his warmth and scent, his heart filling with joy at having him back home and safe in his arms.

Merlin draws in a shaky breath, staring up at the ceiling. “I feel like an idiot for scaring you both so badly.”

Hunith presses her finger against Merlin’s lips. “Hush. You’ve been punished enough today. Believe me, I’ve got some choice words I’ll be sharing with you, young man. But not tonight. We’re all safe and alright, thanks to Arthur.” She shoots him a warm smile across Merlin and reaches out to touch his face, gently stroking his cheek.

It makes Arthur grin back, his heart glowing.

Then Hunith transfers her touch back to Merlin. “We all need to sleep.” She glances at Arthur. “Are you working tomorrow?”

“Yes, but I’m taking a sick day.”

When Merlin frowns and opens his mouth, Arthur presses his palm against his lips. “That wasn’t a discussion opening, it was a fact. Go to sleep.”

Merlin chuckles and turns his head, staring at Arthur with a soft, adoring glow in his eyes. It makes warmth spread through Arthur and he shifts to press himself more firmly against Merlin as he leans over and rubs their noses together.

He realizes that there’s absolutely nothing he wouldn’t do for this amazing man. That fierce, unconditional devotion should scare him, but it doesn’t. It just feels right.

* * *

Over the next few days, Arthur practically lives on the Kilgharrah. He goes back to his quarters to get more clothes and some personal items and he goes to work after skipping the one shift, but the rest of the time is spent with Merlin.

True to her word, Hunith waits a few days until their shock has worn off before she sits Merlin down and gives him a harsh telling off for having shirked his responsibilities because of an upcoming date. Arthur is sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast when Hunith gets into it and it’s both awkward but also satisfying. Because Merlin really had been an idiot. And since Arthur was who Merlin was being idiotic about, he thinks he has the right to make that determination.

But Hunith doesn’t stop there. “But you didn’t just shove off your responsibilities as a transporter, but you put Arthur into an impossible situation. You decided to mess about and Arthur had to bend over backwards to save you from the disaster your negligence nearly created. Not to mention the fine that Arthur paid. We’d lose the Kilgharrah if we had to pay that fine to the government, you know that. They wouldn’t tolerate 200 Albs a month.”

Merlin is quiet and pale and it’s clear from the guilt in his eyes that he feels horrible for what had happened. “I won’t do anything like that again, mum. I swear.”

“Do you want me to get my transport licence? Would that help?”

Frowning, Merlin shakes his head. “No, no. You’ve got enough responsibilities. My responsibilities aren’t that time consuming and it wasn’t stress that made me leave the hold early that day. Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson.”

Hunith seems to believe him and Arthur knows Merlin’s truly learned his lesson. The shock and terror he’d gone through will leave a lasting impact.

But thinking of the trauma they’d all been through continues weighing on Arthur’s mind. Maybe it’s also clinging to Merlin’s because they’re both quiet as they’re lying in Merlin’s bed that night. Arthur’s lying with his head on Merlin’s chest, rubbing his fingers over the bumps of his ribs as he thinks about how to bring up all the things he’s been thinking about and how to fix it.

But Merlin beats him to it. “Arthur?”

“Hmm?”

“We need to talk,” he says quietly.

“I know. You go first.”

Merlin draws in a deep breath as his fingers play with Arthur’s hair. “What happened was awful, but what made it a thousand times worse was having you there. Not you you, but Agent you. Sitting across from you during the interrogation and seeing your blank face was so damn difficult. I kept waiting for you to smile at me and say something comforting and then I remembered that you can’t. That felt so strange.”

Arthur sighs against Merlin’s chest. “I nearly burst into tears when I put the handcuffs on you. When I was standing there, by the airlock, looking down at you and you were so scared and I couldn’t do anything but stand there...it was awful. I don’t ever want to go through something like that again.”

“I hated it too,” Merlin says softly. “And I agree with you that I don’t want that to happen again.” He sighs heavily. “So I think I’ve come up with a solution, but it’ll be difficult.”

Arthur actually hadn’t spent any time coming up with solutions and the heavy tone in Merlin’s voice makes a shudder run through him because Arthur instantly jumps to the worst option and he props himself up on his elbows, staring down at Merlin with wide eyes as his heart pounds. “Don’t you dare suggest we break up! If that’s our only option, I’ll quit my job instead.”

Merlin frowns up at him. “Break up?! Are you daft? I’d rather sell the Kilgharrah.” He chuckles and leans up to kiss Arthur. “No, you adorable, silly idiot. We’re not breaking up. That’s not an option. And you’re also not quitting your job because you love your job and that’s not fair.”

His heart slowly calms at the firmness in Merlin’s words and Arthur slowly lays back down. Merlin tangles his hands in his hair and wraps his other arm around Arthur’s back, holding him tight as he snorts. “Break up. Right. Not now, not ever. You’ll have to throw me out an airlock to get rid of me, Arthur Pendragon.”

That makes Arthur smile, but it also doesn’t solve their problem. He’s been thinking about it and he’s very glad that Merlin isn’t asking him to quit his job. Although Arthur had those brief flashes during the ordeal where he’d hated his job, that feeling hasn’t lasted. He loves his job and the responsibilities, the authority, the pride that come with it. But he also doesn’t want to ever end up in a situation where he’s forced to arrest people he loves and stand by impassively while they’re terrified. “So if we’re not breaking up and you don’t want me to quit my job, what are the options?”

Merlin sighs. “Well, I’ve spent time thinking about it. I think we’ve both let ourselves get a bit distracted. We’ve gotten a bit lazy with our responsibilities. If we had other jobs, we could afford to be distracted, but we don’t. Since we both love our jobs and we want to keep doing them, we have to do everything possible to avoid distraction. But that doesn’t involve breaking things off between us. We need to find a middle ground.”

Arthur nods, understanding what Merlin’s thinking. “We should keep our relationship strictly personal.”

“Yes. I don’t think it’s good for you to be doing my inspections. I get too distracted and I think you do too.”

Making a face, Arthur nods against Merlin’s chest. “Yeah.”

He doesn’t mention it because he doesn’t want to scare Merlin, but he’s still worried that somebody will find out about their relationship and that Valiant’s lawyer will use that to get the results of the investigation thrown out. It might result in Valiant getting away with everything. Merlin won’t face any consequences, but the whole thing is another reminder that intertwining their personal and professional lives isn’t good.

Arthur loved being able to head the investigation and ensure Merlin’s name was cleared. But on the other hand, he can do the almost the same thing if he’s a civilian, watching from the outside. He can push and nag without any regard to having to respect his superiors. In addition, he won’t have to ever arrest or interrogate Merlin again. He can touch and comfort Merlin as much as he wants without risking a negative impact on any future investigations.

Plus, Arthur realizes that Merlin’s past inspections could be called into question if their relationship is ever discovered. The more he thinks about it, the more annoyed he’s getting at himself for having been such an idiot. “I think I should have stopped doing your inspections after you invited me over to dinner that first time,” Arthur mumbles.

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking. But I didn’t say anything because I loved the flirting and I loved seeing you earlier than your shift being over. Honestly, I also loved seeing you in your uniform, but now...”

Arthur gently kisses his chest. “I know. That’s another reason we shouldn’t cross paths while I’m on duty.”

He knows exactly how Merlin feels because he doesn’t think he can ever hear Merlin calling him ‘sir’ again without feeling sick.

Merlin sighs softly, gently playing with Arthur’s hair. “I’ve been thinking about the damn cargo hold cameras too. The ones I don’t have.”

“Yeah. I thought about that too.”

“Before I remembered my weight records, I was terrified that maybe me turning down your offer would end up sending me to prison. When that whole bit was over and you’d left to go to the Square, I remembered I hadn’t just turned down your offer out of pride but because I was worried they’d catch us being inappropriate if anybody ever looked at the footage.”

Arthur sighs. “I realized the same thing. That was a stupid risk to take for little benefit.”

“I think we’ve both been silly. But I also think this was a good reminder of what’s at stake. When we’re working, we have to stay focused on our jobs.”

“Agreed.”

“So you don’t mind not doing my inspections?”

Arthur shakes his head. “No. I don’t ever again want to risk being the reason you get in trouble. I want everything staying clean and straight forward from now on. I won’t answer your hails when you contact control, I won’t do your inspections, I won’t do your audits and if anything happens in future, I’ll stay out of it so I can help from the outside. As a civilian.”

“You’ll just be Arthur and I’ll just be Merlin.” There’s a lightness in Merlin’s voice, as if he’s glad they’re on the same page.

Smiling, Arthur nuzzles his chest. “Yeah. No more uniforms, no more ‘sirs’, no more handcuffs.”

Chuckling softly, Merlin shifts beneath him and rolls them until he’s on top and gazing down at him, his eyes sparkling. “So we’re on the same page?”

“Yeah.”

Leaning down, Merlin presses his forehead against Arthur’s. “I love you,” he whispers.

“I love you too,” Arthur whispers back and leans up to kiss Merlin.

Moaning softly, Merlin shifts over him and quickly deepens the kiss as he presses Arthur into the mattress.

* * *

“It’s beautiful,” Merlin breathes out, a huge smile on his face as he stares around the Sky Loft’s restaurant. The restaurant’s position at the top of the station allows it to have a glass ceiling, which makes it appear as if the diners are eating among the stars. The dark sky stretches above their heads, covered in sparkling stars and the distant glimmer of nearby stations and hubs. The restaurant is dimly lit with soft lights close to the floors and glowing orbs on the tables, creating enough darkness that diners can fully appreciate the night sky above.

“It really is,” Hunith murmurs. “I don’t even know where to look.”

Arthur laughs, his heart filled with joy at seeing how happy they both are. It’s been a few months since the entire ordeal and while some things have changed, others have thankfully stayed the same.

For a start, Merlin had allowed Arthur to pay for a security system in the cargo hold, which had removed a big weight from both of their shoulders.

Another change is that Arthur no longer has anything to do with the Kilgharrah in a professional capacity. For his part, Merlin likes having random agents assigned for his inspections and audits. He claims it really keeps him on his toes and he’s being even more thorough than he’s ever been before because every agent has slightly different preferences for things. Arthur also finds that he’s more focused on his duties now that he knows he won’t see Merlin until his work day is done and how important it is that he does his job thoroughly. They still chat about their jobs when they’re spending time together, but all the conflicts of interest had been removed.

That lack of possible conflict and the renewed dedication to their duties makes them both proud of what they accomplish during their work days, which makes them both happier and that makes their personal time together even better.

Since things have been going so well, Arthur had casually asked Merlin a few weeks ago if he and Hunith would be interested in re-doing their planned date the Sky Loft. Thankfully, Merlin had been very eager and today is finally the day.

Hunith’s eyes keep returning to the table as she brushes her hand over the vase of Sparkling Night Stars that Arthur had bought and delivered to the hotel before his shift this morning so they could be put on the table in a nice vase for their dinner.

Convincing Merlin and Hunith to order whatever they wanted without looking at the menu prices had taken some pleading and exaggerated sad frowns, but they’d finally caved.

“I can’t believe I’ll get to eat delicious food along with looking at all this,” Merlin says, his eyes awed.

Arthur grins and reaches under the table to find his hand and grabs hold of it. Merlin throws him a big smile and lifts their joined hands to kiss his knuckles. “You’re amazing, you know that, don’t you?”

Chuckling, Arthur squeezes their joined hands. “I know.”

Merlin laughs. “Oh, do you?”

“Yes, I do. This wonderful man I know keeps reminding me all the time. I can’t get him to stop.”

His eyes twinkling, Merlin leans over and gives him a quick kiss. “You can try, but you won’t succeed.”

That makes Arthur laugh and he relaxes in the comfortable chair, his heart overflowing at how happy he is. He’d never imagined he’d find love, happiness and a true family on a station in the middle of space, on the Albion border. But he has.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments mean the world so I’d love to know if you enjoyed this story.


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